Policy group pays for legislators’ trips
Reimbursements to 20 Republicans are legal in Ohio
By Jim Siegel
Lawmakers attending conferences hosted by a right-leaning, pro-business policy group have been getting reimbursed for their trips from a fund paid for by lobbying firms and corporate donors, according to a new report.
A list obtained by ProgressOhio, a liberal advocacy group, found that 20 Ohio lawmakers, all Republicans, were reimbursed $1,300 to $2,200 each from November 2009 through 2010 by the American Legislative Exchange Council. The organization invites lawmakers to sit down with each other and corporate officials to discuss policy issues and draft model legislation.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/04/policy-group-pays-for-legislators-trips.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/04/policy-group-pays-for-legislators-trips.html
Ohio GOP shuts door on Kasich power grab
Rule change thwarts effort to pack central committee with pals
By Joe Hallett
Gov. John Kasich’s effort to wrest control of the Ohio Republican Party was dealt a setback yesterday when the party’s central committee approved two resolutions that effectively bolster Kevin DeWine’s hold on the party chairmanship.
Meeting at a North Side banquet hall, the 66-member central committee, the party’s governing body, heatedly debated and then enacted a rule change that tipped the scales for DeWine in an internecine battle with Kasich for supremacy in the party that dominates state government.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/04/ohio-gop-shuts-door-on-kasich-power-grab.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/04/ohio-gop-shuts-door-on-kasich-power-grab.html
Ohio Senate Republicans take another crack at election reform before the fall presidential election
Published: Sunday, February 05, 2012, 12:02 AM
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio might have new voting laws in place before the November presidential election after all.
Senate Republicans are working on a plan that would repeal last year’s controversial election overhaul package and replace it with a more narrow set of reforms that could take effect before the Nov. 6 election.
The latest changes would incorporate some ideas from the GOP’s previous attempt at reform - House Bill 194 - and prior legislative efforts that ultimately failed.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/02/ohio_senate_republicans_take_a.html
GOPers have edge in money
Published: Sat, February 4, 2012 @ 12:00 a.m.
Youngstown Vindicator
COLUMBUS
Like it or not, money is often the key to victory in political campaigns.
We like to envision an America where the little guy, sick of the cesspool of special interests that sometimes dominate officeholders’ attention, can step up, convince the electorate to throw the bums out and replace them with common, ordinary everyday people who still possess the brains they were born with.
Cue Mr. Smith collapsing in the Capitol.
I’m sure that happens once in a while, but not as often as it should. What we’re left with are elected officials who must spend some of their time focusing on the next election campaign. Election campaigns cost money — a lot of money.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/04/gopers-have-edge-in-money/?newswatch
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/04/gopers-have-edge-in-money/?newswatch
House GOP: Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) still has one term remaining before term limits force him out of office in three years. Nonetheless, some members are reportedly already jockeying for the caucus's number one slot.
Top contributors to the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee during the second half of 2011 include:
· Rep. Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) donated $100,000.
· Rep. David Hall (R-Millersburg) donated $100,000.
· Rep. Barbara Sears (R-Sylvania) donated $75,000.
· Rep. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster) donated $65,000.
· Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) donated $55,000.
· Rep. Anne Gonzales (R-Westerville) donated $50,000.
· Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) donated $50,000.
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